Night on the roof
by PinkGloom
Summary: The lights go out unexpectedly in the neighborhood and Helga finds herself in front of Arnold's house. So they decide to go on the roof to pass the time together. Imaginary Zombies and other havoc breaks loose.
1. Lights go out

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never claimed to and never will. But, one can wish and that my friends can't be copyrighted…or something of that nature. So Hey Arnold isn't mine but if it was it would still be on the air and any other copyrighted thing I might mention in this whim of a fanfic isn't mine. Doi!**

**Note from author aka me: Haven't written a fanfic in a while but electricity is out and I figured I should contribute again. Plus I'm not tired and there's nothing else to do. **

**Lights out**

Pure darkness. One second the lights in her room had been on and she had been listening to Billy Talent, while writing love poetry and the next it was pure darkness. A heavy sigh came from the girl sitting on her bed.

'Why me?' Was the question she asked herself, which she found she was doing more and more these days. With another sigh she grabbed her iPhone and turned on the flashlight application. (The most handy app there is.) She slowly groped her way to the door of her room, opened it and shouted, "MIRIAM! WHAT THE HELL…"but she never finished what she had been yelling because she realized half way through her sentence that no one but her was home.

This had been happening more and more recently now that Helga had turned 14 the month before. "Now she can take care of herself. No reason for us to stay in every night because I don't want to pay for a babysitter!" Bob had said with a laugh and a slap to his younger daughter's back. Helga's only response had been a scowl, in his general direction. Helga had given up. There was no point in fighting a losing battle, she had finally rationalized.

With a shake of her head she stopped thinking of things past and started to think of how to solve the problem at hand. Helga realized with a quick start that, "Wow, it really is dark…"Now she wasn't usually afraid of the dark or anything but this was different. It wasn't really the dark, no, it was the silence. How she hated it, the reminder that she was all alone in the house…in the world.

With a slight shutter, Helga moved her way to the stairs. Very slowly she worked her way to the bottom of the stairwell; the last thing she needed to do was trip and break her neck. "Now what?" She had no idea what time it was, she had been too busy daydreaming of Arnold. "Arnold…" his name escaped like a whisper through her lips. Oh, how she wished he was here to save her. She knew what he would do in a situation like this, he would laugh and light candles and declare it was time to swap ghost stories or something to that effect. Something totally ridiculous and yet…

"Something wonderful, something fascinating, something so Arnold…ahh." She finished with a sigh. Helga realized though that this wasn't really helping her current situation at all. But what to do? 'Nothing to do, guess I'll just go for a walk.' Helga looked down at her pink pajama bottoms and her 'The Mighty Boosh' tank top and wondered for a moment if she should really go outside dressed as such. Helga turned off the flashlight app and looked at the time on her iPhone. 'One a.m. huh? Maybe I should get some sleep…' "Nah." There was no school tomorrow so what did she care how late she stayed up, she knew her parents wouldn't. It was a safe neighborhood, no reason for a girl like her not to wonder around at this time of night. So she grabbed her keys, locked the front door and was off.

The first thing she noticed was that her front porch lights weren't the only ones out. It looked like maybe it hadn't just been a freak power surge. 'Maybe…..'She couldn't stop the thought even if she had wanted too. Maybe he was up? Maybe he too, had had a sudden urge to go outside. Maybe he too was outside on the stoop of the boarding house this very minute in his pajamas. Maybe…

Her feet seemed to move on their own accord, not that she would have had to think of it anyways. She had been there dozens of times, hundreds of times. Hell, she had slept walked there. If nowhere else in the world she knew the way to Arnold's house. Helga thought of ways to start a conversation the whole time she was walking there. But they always seemed to begin and end with calling him 'Football head' and insulting him in multiple way. She had gotten better in her behavior towards Arnold but hey no one is perfect and Arnold was most defiantly her Kryptonite.

"Helga!" With a snap she looked up and realized she had already walked all the way to his house. 'That quick? Was it even possible? Have I really been that absorbed in my thoughts? Oh, crap. Now what?'

"Hey football head. Lights out, huh?" 'Lame.' He just proceeded to give her that award winning smile he always had ready to stun her with and let out a soft chuckle. "Why yes it is but more than that what are you doing out at this hour? In your pajamas….?" He gave her the quick once over and she could feel her cheeks burning and knew she had to be as red as a tomato.

"It's a free county, bucko. What business is it of yours?" After that wonderfully immature comment Helga preceded in what she hoped looked like a glare, but she knew probably came out as more of a feeble stare. Arnold looked as if he was contemplating something. Like…? Helga could only hope he would say something fast because she had nothing else to provide to the conversation. She had finally taken the time to see what Arnold was dressed in and boy oh boy.

Boxers, he was wearing boxer. OH MY GOD! But no it got better, they were plaid. Adorable. He had an old shirt on that had the band name 'Flogging Molly' written across it. I like that band, Helga thought with an inward sigh. Then she noticed he had stopped contemplating whatever had been on his mind and was now starting at her in what she thought looked like a vagrant stare too. She only knew this because most of her life she had been directing that kind of look at him.

As if realizing he had been caught Arnold let out a small cough, "So home alone, huh?" Helga just stared at time another moment so stunned that she told him the truth. "Yeah, but how do you know?" She barely whispered. How had this conversation managed to get so awkward so quickly she wondered.

Arnold shuffle his feet for a moment before he answered. "I kind of gathered that you don't like being home alone, so…Power outage, who wants to be home alone during that, right?" With a half-smile Arnold finished his, lame, if not correct observation. 'Oh no, Oh no, Oh no no no no…' Ran across her mind a mile a minute. 'Retaliate!'

"So what dorko! I don't like being home alone! W-What business is that of yours anyway? I can't believe you would talk to me like that! I ought to punch your lights out! I ought to-to…" Oh, no. Helga could feel it happening, she was going to cry. Ever since she had turned 13 instead of punching out the person she was having the conformation with, she wanted to start crying. Puberty, sucks.

Even though Arnold was a 14 year old boy and should know nothing about what to do if a girl started to cry, this is Arnold after all. The boy who acted like he was 50 the day he turned 5. He slowly walked down the stairs of the boarding house and proceeded to cover the rest of the distance over to Helga. With a sympathetic smile he started to pat her shoulder. "It's late and I'm tired if I wasn't I would, I would…."*sniff* *sniff* Helga started to mummer but was quickly quieted by the feeling of Arnold's hand on her shoulder, her bare shoulder. Arnold seemed to receive the same shock on his hand because after a few friendly pats, he just started to stare at his feet with an odd expression.

"You can stay the night here if you want."

Helga slowly turned her head to face Arnold, "Really?" was the only word she managed to form. Could she really believe her luck? Was this really happening to her? Helga G. Pataki? Oh rapture oh joy oh my.

"Um, yeah. We could um, go up on the roof and um, you know talk about stuff or something of that general nature. I'll keep you occupied, no need to worry. You'll be ok." As Arnold spoke Helga could hear the confidence slowly build in his voice. He wanted to protect her. Her prince, her knight in shining armor. Keep her occupied? Um, Helga could think of a couple of not rated 'G' things that would defiantly keep her 'occupied.' But he needed an answer! 'Don't sound too enthusiastic, Helga old girl.'

"Yes, I-I would love to spend the night. Um, thanks Arnold you're a good friend." They looked at each other for another moment and exchanged friendly smiles. Slowly Arnold started to walk back towards his house with Helga closely trailing behind. She caught a soft whiff of his deodorant. 'Oh, wow. He smells good. Remember keep hands to self! Do not mess this up!'

He opened the door and grabbed the flashlight, Helga could only assume, he had placed it here earlier. Turning it on Arnold looked over his shoulder at her and said in a whisper, "You had better hold my hand, even with the lights on it is sometimes difficult to work your way around the halls here." Helga thought she heard him mummer something about his Grandmother and her clutter but she was too busy thinking about holding Arnold's hand.

When they joined hands it was different then when he had touched her shoulder. That had felt like a fire but this felt familiar, like they held hands every day. Arnold's hand just seemed to 'fit' into hers, the way she always knew it would. She thought he could feel the connection too but….what did she know?

They made it to Arnold's room way too quick for her liking till it really hit her, she was in his room.

At night time, 1:30ish…

In their pajamas….

Still holding hands….

'Ah…'

Arnold finally noticed they were still holding hands and let hers go, with what she hoped she sensed was a bit of resistance. "So I figured we could grab my sleeping bags from the closet and sit on the roof. Here's a lot more light out there with the distant city lights and all…Hold the flashlight will you and direct it into the closet for me?

He proceeded to his closet opened the accordion doors and pulled out two bundles, bundles Helga assumed were tightly tied sleeping bags. He tossed her one and Helga nearly lost her balance, it had been substantially heavier then she had been expecting. "What you got in here Football head? A couple of bricks? Geez."

"Um, well Grandma was the last one to use the sleeping bags. Something about a Zombie attack or…well, I think she put rations in the middle of them, then tied them super tight so we could carry them with us to…" Arnold stopped his half-hearted explanation and just shrugged his shoulders. Helga tried to sniffle a giggle but Arnold still heard her and managed to crack a weak smile.

"You know geek-bait, she may be crazy but your Grandma's awesome. I mean Zombie attack? That's actually pretty freakin' cool. Wish I had a Grandma that did that sort of thing. Have you ever read 'World War Z?" Arnold looked over his shoulder at her and gave her an extremely surprised look.

"You read that book?" Helga's only answer was a glare. "I mean, yeah, I've read that book. Who doesn't love hordes of the undead coming to eat your brains out, right?" Helga nodded her head in agreement. Then the light switch went on in her head. She had the perfect idea how to spend the night on the roof with Arnold and not fall asleep half an hour after getting up there. Helga wanted to spend as much time with Arnold that was possible.

"Zombies, that's the reason the lights went out so unexpectedly. They must have killed the guys at the electric plant and during the vicious mutilation, spilled the soda that had been resting near the main switch and blew all the circuits. It's a full on attack and the only way to combat them is to shot their heads off while strategically hiding on the roof." and with that Helga gave Arnold a knowing nod and wink.

Arnold looked surprised; Helga could see him working it all out in his mind. Then a serious expression broke across his face.

"We're in danger here. Need to move as fast as possible. Here I have the pillows. Let's move, move." With that he ran to his bed threw the sleeping bag on to it along with the two pillows and climbed the bookshelf to open the latch to his window. "Come on Helga. Throw me up your sleeping bag first, then the other things."

That was all the encouragement she needed. She ran over to the bed and started to toss the sleeping bag to Arnold thru the open window. This wasn't going to be a boring night at all.


	2. Zombies and ADD

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nothing at all, especially all the stuff that looks copyrighted. I have no money.

Zombies and ADD

They worked their way out onto the roof. Arnold quickly closed the hatch behind Helga and started to open his sleeping bag, Helga followed suit. She unrolled her sleeping bag and Helga was more than slightly shocked by the results.

"Twinkies, football head and a bottle of cheese wiz? Is this…a copy of 'Zombies Weekly'? Baked Beans, huh? A Nerf gun and a water gun…and spray paint. One small blanket with kittens all over it? Wow, thank god the zombies we are fighting really _are _fictional." Arnold let out a snort of laughter.

Helga raised her head to see what Arnold had stuffed away in his sleeping bag by his Grandmother and was surprised even more by the contents in his. "A batman comic? Toilet paper and a tube of toothpaste. Is that crocheting needles and string…the game of Life? Another blanket, huh? I guess zombies must attack in the wintertime. I can see the usefulness of some of it but comics..."

Arnold tilted his head to one side and gave Helga a weird look for a moment. Then he got a wicked expression on his face. Like a bullet he ran over to Helga and grabbed the water gun, then ran a few feet away and turned to face Helga. "So useless stuff, huh? Exactly what a zombie would say. Stay over there or I will be forced to shot!"

Helga rolled her eyes at Arnold, "Doi, zombies don't talk, genius." With this said Helga got to her feet and grabbed the Nerf gun. "We've been on the roof for too long you're starting to suffer from delusions, football head. Come here so I can tie you up."

Helga only took one step before a jet of water sprayed her in the face. She started to sputter, "Arnold, you're dead meat!" With this Helga launched herself at Arnold she shot the first Nerf 'bullet' at Arnold and shot him in the leg. Arnold pretended that she had really shot him in the leg and fell down to one knee but he still took aim and fired with his water gun getting Helga's shirt all wet.

"Ah, my shirt!" Helga cried out in dismay. "Ok, you want to play that way? All right maybe I am a zombie? The new hybrid talking kind but I still have a need for brains. Delicious brainy, brains!" With this said Helga shot the remaining bullets at Arnold, while running towards him and then knelt down when she reached him. She lifted up her arms and took hold of both sides of his head and proceeded to yell, "Brains!" in a slightly disturbing way. Then began munching on his hat and hair.

Arnold was only surprised for a moment then he began to shout about how he wasn't going down without a fight and began to shot more water at Helga, getting his own shirt wet in the process. When all the water was used up he tossed the gun aside and began to wrestle with Helga to get the vise grip she had on his head loose.

"No, I won't let you!"

"Stop it football head! I'm trying to feast on your brains, criminy!"

With this said Helga realized the situation she was in. They were both wet from the water gun, barely clothed and as an added bonus it was the middle of the night…Arnold took full advantage of Helga's confusion and took the opportunity to not only loosen her grip on him but to also tackle her to the ground.

"Ha! I triumph over all! I am the zombie killer! Now zombie say 'Uncle!' or else deal with the consequences!" Helga just stared at him with a dreamy expression on her face. Arnold didn't quite get what was wrong till he realized he was on top of her. Not just that but he had her hands pinned down behind her head with his arms. Arnold wasn't quite sure what to do, all of a sudden he noticed how warm she felt under him and how her breathing had gotten shallow.

He felt his cheeks get red and Arnold averted his eyes and started to look at her hair. Helga saw Arnold blush and couldn't help but get a little pink also. She didn't know what to do her brain was short-circuiting. She could feel every contour of him and she certainly didn't have any complaints. 'I have to say something but what? I, I…'

"What are you doing football head?"

Arnold just continued to look at her hair, "What Helga? Is this making you uncomfortable? Hate to be an inconvenience to you, or do I?" Arnold slowly moved his head down softly nuzzled her hair, "So you're the talking emotional hybrid zombie?"

'Criminy, he's gone over the deep end! What do I do? But I really don't want to do anything.' Before she knew it she was leaning into him, she knew she had to focus but how could she in a situation like this?

Suddenly a sharp sound ripped them apart. Arnold jumped off of her like his skin was on fire. It had been a horn on the freeway above. Helga just looked at him from her spot on the ground, "God! You almost squashed he bucko! What the hell?" Helga quickly sat up and brushed herself off. 'What had that all been about?' She silently thought.


	3. Cheese and Sugar High

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just like last week and the week before, lucky me.

Author's notes: So here we go! Another chapter ready for print! Thanks for all the great reviews, I'm really happy you all like it!

Sugar and Cheese High

Helga just stared at the floor, 'What now? Think of something, I have to break this tension!' Helga looked around for something that could distract her from the events that had just transpired.

"Hey, pass me a Twinkies and the cheese wiz would, yeah? I'm starving over here!" Arnold gave Helga a hesitant look before asking, "You want what?"

"Doi, haven't you ever eaten your Twinkies with cheese wiz on the top of them? Where have you been living, under a rock?"

"No, but…you do like chocolate ice cream and bubblegum don't you?" Helga knew it was a question but it certainly sounded like a statement. How did he know that? Oh, well…

"Yeah, what of it football head? Just pass it over will ya, I'm dying over here!" Arnold picked up a Twinkie and the bottle of cheese wiz and handed them to Helga. She proceeded to rip open the package, take the cap off the cheese wiz bottle with her teeth, spit the cap into her lap and cover the Twinkie in processed cheese. Arnold couldn't help but flinch a bit at the sight of a perfectly good Twinkie going to ruin like it was, but after the initial shock it was starting to look pretty good.

Helga practically ate the Twinkie in one bite. It had been meant as a distraction but once she saw the Twinkie she realized just how hunger she was. Absentmindedly Helga said, "Your Grandmother must make some weird stuff for dinner right?" Seeing the irritated look of Arnold's face she quickly added, "Not there's anything wrong with that. I mean geez, Football head at least you get dinner! Half the time Bob and Miriam forget I exist and don't even make me a portion and then they make me do the dishes. I mean I remember the time when I sleep walked everywhere because the only thing I had to eat for dinner was pork rinds!"

Arnold just kind of looked at her for a second before saying, "Spaghetti and Skittles, Hamburgers and Gummy worms, Cereal with chocolate, the list really goes on." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "...and lots and lots of watermelon." Arnold took a deep breath.

"I'm surprised when I was younger that I didn't go into a sugar coma. Grandma always said 'Why wait for dessert when you can kill two birds with one stone?' I don't mind that much but it can be a little awkward if company is over." He said all this while ripping open a Twinkie and putting cheese wiz on it just as Helga had. Arnold took a bit of it and with a nod of the head said "Not bad."

Helga just stared at the freeway above and listened to the cars passing overhead. It may have been the early hours of the morning but there was always something happening. That was one of the things that Helga loved most about the city, the fact that it never seemed to sleep. Arnold followed suite and stared up at the sky lost in thought before asking, "Why do you call your parents by their real names? Don't they get irritated?"

If it had been ten minutes earlier Helga would have yelled at him to mind his own business but she felt that Arnold had shared something private with her so why shouldn't she. Without moving Helga simply stated, "At first they did hate it. Miriam cried a little and Bob yelled at me to never to do it again but they had paid attention to me. It had been negative attention but if I had just called them Mom and Dad they would have ignored me like they always do. I've been calling them by their real names for so long now they don't even care anymore." Helga let out a bitter laugh. "Hell, I could go back to calling them Mom and Dad again for the shock value, but now it just sounds so...empty."

Helga finished with a sigh and turned her eyes to look at Arnold. 'He really is so sweet so kind! How I wish you could take all this pain away.' She almost reached for her locket but at the last second common sense took over.

Arnold met her gaze "You don't have to been so mean all the time. If you want attention everyone would probably give you more if you were nicer, I know I would." Helga's eyebrows bunched up in a confused look. What could she say to that? Had it been an off-handed confession? No, Arnold was just being Arnold and that entailed that he be nice to everyone.

Helga jumped to her feet and started to pace. "Be nice to everyone? Nice to everyone, huh? Great advise Football head! Then we can have one more Lila running around making the world 'ever so' nice. Well you know what? This is who I am and I don't care to pretend to be someone else. I'm not a girly girl! I'm Helga G. Pataki and that involves some balls. Balls that I am sure not many people have! Life might be roses for you Arnoldo but not me. I'm the bully and that is the persona I am going to keep." And with a huff Helga plopped herself back down.

Arnold then proceeded to his feet and started to shout "Well you know what? My life isn't roses either! Everyone thinks my grandma is loony! She's not you know! She's the sweetest person I _have _ever met and she cares about everyone! My parents abandoned me! I haven't seen or spoken to them in years, you have any idea how that feels? I may always 'look on the bright side' but for Christ sake does everything have to be doom and gloom in the world?"

With a huff Arnold finished his rant. They both stared at each other for a few moments before Helga broke the silence with "Um, want to play Life?"

Arnold snorted out a half laugh, half grunt and went to go grab the game. 'What had all that been about? Were they bonding? Wasn't this what friends did? Tell each other secrets and things about themselves that no one else knew?' Helga had a feeling that with the correct prodding even more information would come from Arnold. She just had to play her cards right.

And she would.

Please review! I feed off of them, kind of like a leech.


	4. The Game of Life

P.S. I have no clue what the real rules to life are (LOL) so it's going to be wrong but deal with it. (Oh, like you remember the rules anyway.)

The Game of Life

The board was all set up and… "Ok, so what are the rules Football head?" Helga asked Arnold who was sitting cross-legged at the other side of the board game. "The rules? Well, no real idea honestly." Arnold finished this confession with a small laugh.

Helga rolled her eyes and picked up the 'Job' cards. "Um, let's pick a job card or you want to blindly guess?" Arnold looked at the cards in Helga's hand for a moment and decided, "Let's not look and just grab a card. I mean life's kind of like that, right?" Helga took all the Job cards and fanned them out in front of Arnold face down. "Age before beauty."

Instead of thinking about it like Arnold was sometimes prone to do, he just grabbed the first card that caught his eye. "Accountant? I hope this job doesn't reflect my real life path at all." Arnold looked at the card with slight disgust. Helga let out a laugh that sounded more like a muffled grunt and handed the cards to Arnold. "Don't forget to shuffle them, four eyes."

"I'm not wearing glasses." Arnold stated in a matter of fact tone

"Doi, you're an accountant, that equals glasses. Let me pick a card."

Arnold shuffled the cards and opened them up face down so Helga could pick. She thought about it for a moment then grabbed the card that was last on the right. Not because she liked that card but because if she grabbed that one she could manage to brush Arnold hand with hers and make it look innocent.

'Ahhhh….' Went Helga's inner conscious, until she saw her card.

"Teacher? Blah, why would I want to do that? Urg, this game is dumb." Arnold let out a laugh and started to divvy out the cash according to the career cards.

"Hey, just be glad you aren't the 'Hair stylist' but if you could have picked which card would you have wanted..." Arnold asked innocently not looking Helga in the eye.

"Well, the 'Artist' I guess…what about you Dilbert?"

"Haha, very clever. Me? I would have been the 'Adventurer'."

"There isn't an "Adventurer" card! Pick one that is a choice in the game"

"Fine. I guess 'Entertainer' isn't all that bad. I mean its way better than doing taxes." Arnold stuck out his tongue in disgust at the last part.

Helga bit her lip as a memory flooded her mind. "You can be an entertainer, as long as you promise not to be a magician."

Arnold's eyes went big as he remembered his somewhat failed magic show. "Well, if you hadn't disappeared...it won't have been such a disaster." Arnold realized he needed to change the topic fast.

"But what do you mean by 'being an artist? I know you write good poetry from school but do you draw or something too?"

Helga just gave Arnold a blank stare. He already knew she had taken up painting in the last few months so why was he asking a question he already knew the answer too? 'Why must he always pry and yet make it look so innocent? God, he makes my blood boil and yet…' Helga's eyes started to glaze over without her realizing it.

"Helgaaaaa…?"

Helga shook her head for a moment, "Painting, you already knew that might I point out. Doi, you caught me painting in the park late at night a few months ago, remember?" For a moment Helga wondered if he _did _remember...

Arnold gave a smile. "Of course I remember. I was just doing what I do best."

* * *

Helga had had another fight with Bob about god knows what anymore. It had been so late (or early) and Helga had just gone downstairs to get a drink but alas nothing was ever that simple. She had needed to clear her head, after the pointless fight and the park was the best place to do it. She grabbed her poetry notebook but before Helga ran out of her bedroom she noticed the small carrying case in the corner. For Christmas the year before, her parents had given her an artist carrying set. It had promptly been thrown in the corner and forgotten. For some reason an urge came over her to take it with her.

She grabbed it and shoved her notebook in the bag. Slamming the door she ran down the stairs.

"If you leave young lady I am locking this front door! You can sleep on the stoop for all I care, do you understand?" Bob thundered from the living room he didn't even have enough decency to leave the front of the TV to confront his youngest daughter.

Helga stood there for a second wondering the best way to answer, a witty comeback? A threat? No, Helga realized none of that really mattered. Would it make Bob look up from the TV?

So without a word Helga opened the front door and without a peep stealthy slipped into the night. She made her way to the park slowly and thought about the situation she had gotten herself into.

"It's not that bad really." Helga thought out loud. "I mean I have a few bucks in my pocket, I'll grab something from the 7/11 besides I have the fire escape. The real question is did I leave my window locked?" By then Helga had walked to the neighborhood convenience store and started to look at the drinks. A nice pumpkin latte was in order and a doughnut. Not the breakfast of champions but hey she was a growing girl.

Helga stepped back outside and felt a small chill. She continued making her way to the park. 'If I ever leave I think I'll miss the park most.' She finished her doughnut before she reached the park but wanted to save the latte for later.

Helga reached her favorite spot, which was a lone oak by the lake. The tree was huge and the long sweeping branches alone could inspire her. She sat down so close to the massive oak she could almost feel herself dissolve into the trunk. No one would find her here. She put her latte down in a secure place between two roots and after removing her poetry book took her first real look at the painting set. It had come in a postal style carrying case. She glanced inside and found colored pencils, paints, brushes, a sketchpad, markers and a few other miscellaneous artsy tools.

Her original plan had been to write poetry about a certain yellow haired football head but today the yellow marker seemed more attractive than the yellow imagery she could come up with using her lead pencil. So grabbing the markers she opened up the flap, pulled out the yellow marker and stared out at the lake. 'Now what?' Helga's mind asked her.

After a moment Helga realized her head was still distracted from the fight she had had with her Dad. She hated to do anything artistic in that mood because she would always go back to that poem later and see in the imagery that something else had been on her mind. Not wanting to ruin her first real attempt at drawing since the third grade Helga closed her eyes and mediated.

Instead of meditation though Helga fell asleep, with a start Helga woke up. Foggily she thought 'That seemed a lot longer then I meant it to be.' Helga looked at her cell phone it was six in the morning and go figure, not a single missed call. "I don't care. I bet he never even when to go check on me."

With a grumble Helga remembered the sketchpad still resting in her lap. 'I still have time to draw. Bob goes to work at 9am; I'll stay here till then. I have my cold latte-which is yummy and hours of entertainment here.' With that Helga reached into the marker set and pulled out a colored pencil. After gazing out at the lake for a few minutes to get the feel of the atmosphere Helga began to draw.

She had finished the lake; bench on the west side of the lake and a tree or two but something was missing. Helga began to rummage through her canvas bag and pulled out the paint set. She had finished her latte long ago, so she walked over to the edge of the lake and filled the latte cup with water. Sitting back down once she had reached the tree, she laid the latte cup in between two roots again and picked up the paintbrush. "What now?" Helga pondered this question for a moment before finally going with the blue again and painting over the lake to give it a more three-dimensional look.

She was so engrossed with her painting she never noticed the sun that was beginning to rise or a certain football head that had made his way over to her and was looking over her shoulder at her painting.

"That's really pretty looking. I didn't know you painted."

Helga was so engrossed with her painting her only reply was, "Really? It's my first painting. You really like it?"

Arnold took a moment too long to answer because that second was all Helga needed to realize what was going on. "Arnold?" Helga went to press the drawing against her chest like she would have done with her poetry book but she realized that wet paint on her blouse was the last thing she wanted so Arnold was able to continue look at her art work. "What. Do. You. Want?" Every syllable was pronounced with an undertone of 'Go away now.'

"Nothing really, just saw you over here and wanted to say 'hi' and was also wondering what you are doing up so early. Couldn't sleep?"

Helga realized she probably had huge black bags under her eyes and that was enough indication on how much sleep she had gotten but as always Arnold was trying to be polite. 'Must he sugar coat everything?'

"Yeah, long night." Helga come to the conclusion that she wasn't really in the mood to argue with Arnold, she was just too tired. 'Plus that can be my excuse later when he tells me I'm acting strange."

"So what made you come out and paint on this fine morning?" As he said these words he slowly sat down next to her, almost acting like she was a deer in the headlights and the slow movements were meant to not scare her away. "I always knew you had an artistry side to you. Your school projects are always much better than everybody else."

Helga let out a sigh and looked out over the lake. Usually she would be enraptured but today…

"Tell you what, I'll go grab us some coffee and you can tell me all about the painting when I get back, ok?" Arnold slowly stood up and smiled down at her.

"Yeah, lots of cream please." Helga just continued to look out over the lake lost in thought as Arnold walked away to the convenient store.

"What was that all about?" She whispered to no one in particular.

* * *

She had almost forgotten about their little 'encounter'. It had been nice. Another recent event of them getting closer or was her mind just playing trick on her? Helga supposed it was better just to leave that thought alone.

"Football head I think anything is worse than doing taxes, although I have never done them I've heard big Bob go on about it enough to know I don't want to know."

"I agree, Grandpa always acts like he died the day before so his tax broker will leave him alone when it's time to do taxes for the year. Grandpa in a white sheet as a ghost…you can spin first while I'm sorting the cash. I'll be the banker too, unless you want to be."

"Nope go for it. Ok, spinning the spiny thing." Helga reached for the spin dial in the middle of the board and gave it a quick turn with her right hand. "Seven, woot. Oh, doi, I need a game piece. Throw me one will you."

Arnold opened up the box, "Which color you want?"

"Ah, blue's fine." Arnold started to hand over a blue car and then a red one. "You have the blue minivan and I have the red sports car."

"That's a riot Arnold, now hand them over."

Helga placed the red car at the starting line then took the blue one and moved it seven places. "Let's see, I landed on pay day! That's what I'm talking about, hand over the cash." Helga held out her hand with an extremely smug look on her face.

Arnold counted out the pay from her career card and handed her the payday money along with the starting amount. "Hey, Helga did you notice the box says 'For 9 and up' I just find that funny for a game called 'Life'." Helga let out a little laugh, "I think that at nine we were competent enough to play this game, even though it may not be by the rules. Besides that stems more from laziness then stupidity." Arnold nodded his head in agreement.

Helga began to laugh and stole a look at her cell phone. '3am huh? Not much longer till sunrise? I wonder if this will all change when the sun comes up. What a weird night it's been but…' That was when Helga came to a resolution.

By the end of the night she would kiss Arnold.

Review and Love


	5. Life and Superheroes

A/N: Yeah I have been inspired by so many awesome Hey Arnold fanfics lately that I figured it was time I actually completed this one. It took so long because I start fics on a whim and once the muse is gone it can take a while to come back. I hope you enjoy...

Disclaimer: I own nothing...doi.

Life and Comics

Helga sighed. As in real life, all the children she had managed to acquire were slowly starting to drain her finances. "Just for the record...I'm _not _having six children." Helga closed her eyes and opened them up to the highway above her. "I'm traveling the world and achieving great success both in my career and personal life."

Arnold let out a scoff. Helga turned to face him with murder in her eyes and Arnold put up his arms in defense. "Helga! You have the wrong idea. Believe me, I have no doubt you will be wildly successful if you apply half of the passion you have to any pursuit." He hesitated before he added, "But don't you think you'll be a little lonely doing that all by yourself?"

Helga remembered the dream she had had as the president with Arnold as her 'first man' and smiled. She wished she could even try to describe it to Arnold but Helga knew it was beyond insane. "I never said I would be alone, I just said I wasn't having six kids! What about you? Waiting for your 'ever so' sweetheart to sweep you away?" Helga spent the wheel, purposefully avoiding Arnold's frown.

"For your information, the only thing I care about is keeping my grandparents happy in the future. I don't need all that relationship crap till much much later and as for later, I'll find the perfect girl..." Arnold looked like he wanted to add more but instead just moved his game piece.

Suddenly the game wasn't as fun as it had been moments before. With a sigh, Helga laid down on her back. She heard Arnold do the same. After a few minutes of silence, Helga thought she was going to go crazy but she refused to be the one to break the silence.

"It would be easy if life was just a game."

Helga wasn't sure if Arnold was looking for an answer but she figured it was a rhetorical question and kept her lips shut.

"I was hoping someone I knew would walk by when I came outside..." Arnold let his words die off. Internally he added, 'I just didn't realize I wanted to see you until you walked by.' After that the words of his grandfather almost brought a shiver to him. 'We love the crazy ones.'

Helga smiled. She tried to not let the smile show through in her words. "I wanted to meet someone too. That's why I left the house..." She realized she didn't want to finish that sentence so Helga changed it. " I can't believe the electricity is still out. I hope it's back on tomorrow. My phone is going to die soon if I don't charge it."

Arnold didn't have a reply for her, so he just let himself bask in the moment. He had never had a girl up on the roof alone and he realized it was truly a place for bonding. He almost hated to admit it to himself, but Helga was the perfect person for the mood the night had put him in. She was being oddly cooperative but he knew she would just scoff at him when they saw each other again. He didn't want that to happen, but he had no idea how to prevent it. No matter how close they had gotten over the years, there were some things that still stayed the same.

Helga could almost hear the gears moving in Arnold's head. She wished for what seemed the hundredth time, that she could read that little Football head of his. But would she really want to know? She knew Arnold would be surprised if he could read her thoughts. Before she could stop herself she asked, "What you thinking about?" Helga mentally slapped herself, 'God, that sounds so girly!'

Arnold propped himself onto one elbow and held his head up with his hand. "Huh?" He was feeling less than articulate; the question had truly shocked him. Helga, asking about his thoughts? Feelings?

She propped herself up on the opposite elbow and faced her Football headed love god. "I mean you have a pretty oddly shaped head on your shoulders. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but you come up with some pretty wild daydreams. I was just wondering what looking up at the night sky makes you think of."

Arnold was at a loss for words. Not because she was right, but because at that moment he had been thinking about her...and that was the last thing he wanted to admit too. Sweeping the area around him for ideas, Arnold's eyes laid on the Batman comic. Bingo.

"I was thinking about Batman."

Helga cocked her head. "Really?"

Arnold cleared his throat and sat up. "Of course! What superhero lives for the night? I mean he is a bat." He hoped it didn't sound as lack luster to her as it did to him.

Helga also sat up. "So does that mean Batman is your favorite? I always pegged you for a Superman type of guy."

Arnold almost asked Helga 'why?' but he already knew. "Ha-ha. I know. I'm a goody goody and so I'm Superman. Well, than I suppose that makes you Lois Lane."

They both just stared at each other. After a moment Helga gulped. "And might I ask why...?"

Arnold interrupted her in his effort to cover his blunder. "Because your noisy and pushy and always want your way. Not because Superman and Lois were..." Arnold's eyes got big. "What superhero are you?"

Helga tried to clear her flustered mind. "Superhero? Um...I suppose Iron man."

Now that caught Arnold's attention. "Um, why are you a man?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Last time I checked hair boy gender doesn't matter. Plus you asked super_hero _that would make me a man. Anyway, I would be Iron man, because I'm rough around the edges, a genius and full of myself, for good reason." Helga couldn't help but add, "Plus you're a Pepper if I ever saw one."

Arnold huffed. "Fine. If you could be a super_heroine _who would you be?"

This took considerably more thought on her part. "Ummm...I suppose Wonder Woman."

Arnold took a moment to imagine Helga in that nice small tight fighting outfit...with a whip. He felt a little hot around the collar. While they were still far from being adults, Helga certainly had more of a figure than she did when she was nine.

Helga sighed. "Not because I particularly _like _Wonder Woman but because I really don't know of many super girls and I hate the fact that many are just accessories for superguys..."

Arnold laughed, typical Helga answer.

Suddenly Arnold had to squint his eyes. The sun was beginning to rise.


	6. The Sun

A/N: Thanks again to all my reviews! Seeing that really makes me want to finish this! Fighting!

PS You should totally go on YouTube and watch Hey Craig! It is a totally amazing interview with the creator.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! 'Cuz if I did, Hey Arnold! would have never ended! 3

I also don't own "Ride of the Valkyries" and it is one of the best songs ever! Go Dragon-Con!

The Sun

Helga saw Arnold squint and was terrified. 'What about my kiss?' It had just seemed so much easier to do in the cover of night. Then again, she had just spent the entire night talking to the boy she was usually barely able to exchange two nonviolent words with.

Arnold almost looked like he didn't want to the night to come to an end either. He looked down at the game board that was still laid out. "We should probably clean up..."

Helga knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it. If she did, that would mean their night together was over. Without a word, Helga began to pick up the Nerf bullets that were still littering the rooftop.

She also picked up the Twinkie wrappers and Cheese wiz. She threw them all down on top of the sleeping bag and a thought shot through her head. She tossed the trash next to the sleeping bag and sat down on it.

Noticing the lack of movement from Helga, Arnold turned around to see her sitting on one of the sleeping bags. He finished putting the last pieces back into the Life game and went to go sit next to Helga. He know what she was doing...she was facing the sunrise.

When she felt the comfortable weight of Arnold sit down next to her, it only reconfirmed that Arnold would always be the only one for her. She reached inside her pocket, fishing out her iPhone. She knew the perfect music to met the sunrise with.

Arnold was only slightly shocked when he heard "The Ride of the Valkyries" suddenly assault his ears. He knew Helga was a closet romantic just as much as he was. How could she be so artistic and poetic if she wasn't?

He soon found himself humming with the music. It was even better with no lights and the gentle hums of generators turning on as people woke up. The sunrise was definitely intensified with the music, it truly was a moving piece. Arnold wondered what other types of music Helga had but he decided it was best not to break the moment; he could always ask her later.

Helga could barely believe her luck. A beautiful sunrise on top of a roof with the one person in the world she would have wanted to share it with. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand but knew it was against her better judgment. She caught a side ways look at Arnold and the smile on his face made hers even bigger.

Even though the sun had risen, Helga wasn't quite ready to leave the roof but Arnold stood up and Helga took it as a sign that the show was over. She stuffed the iPhone back into her pocket and stood up to roll up the sleeping bag.

Arnold cleared his throat. "I can't guarantee what my grandma will make, but if you want to stay for breakfast..." He let the question hang in the air, very uncertain of what Helga's answer would be.

Helga smiled. "Well, considering the electricity is out, it might be either really big or nonexistent."

Whenever the electricity was out at the Pataki house Big Bob always made a huge meal with all the meat that had been in the fridge. Helga hated to admit it but she loved those meals the most. No television and there wasn't the sound of the blender.

Arnold rolled up his sleeping bag. "It will probably be huge, because grandma won't want anything to spoil." He opened the window and gave Helga a smile as he climbed down into his room. Helga sighed and looked over into the window. She threw the bundle down to Arnold and he tossed it into the middle of his room.

Helga made her way down until she slipped and fell onto the bed...or more appropriately she fell onto Arnold. Her back was to his front and she could feel his "Whoo" of air as she landed onto his chest. He had been sitting up and he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her from falling off the bed. Helga wondered subconsciously if she had done it on purpose. Her answer? Probably.

The kiss brushed through her mind but for some reason it seemed that it would probably ruin the perfect night they had shared instead of make it better. So to cover her complete and utter embarrassment, Helga jumped up and punched Arnold in the arm. "Watch it bucko!"

Arnold's eyes narrowed. "You do realize that you were the one that fell onto me?" He got up and put their rolled up sleeping bags back into his closet.

Helga quietly let out her breath and focused. With a twinge she apologized, although it was less than heartfelt. Her eyes roamed over the room and suddenly her eyes feel on a very surprising item. It was her pink journal. It was covered in other papers and all she could see was one corner. Helga hid her smile. Did he still wonder who the mysterious secret admire was? If Helga had her way, he would be pondering that question for a very long time.

When she turned back around Arnold had changed his shirt. He throw her a shirt. "I'm not sure how you would feel only wearing pj's around my grandparents."

Helga wanted to add that wearing his clothes would probably made it even more awkward but the last thing she wanted to do was give him back the shirt. So she put it around her shoulders and buttoned up the plaid top. He gave her a smile; feeling that the situation was getting too 'comfy' she scowled back at him.

Arnold rolled his eyes internally. When would Helga ever feel comfortable when it was just them? He had an inkling of what that might entail but he wasn't ready to admit that to himself yet. So instead Arnold walked over to his bedroom door and opened it. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving."

Helga nodded. "Yeah, one Twinkie wasn't really enough to tide me over either."

Helga brushed past him as he held open the door and she shivered.


	7. Breakfast

A/N: So here you go! The last chapter :D I hope you enjoy! Please review!

I'm happy to see how popular Hey Arnold is after so many years! I know I can't get enough of it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Breakfast

Helga almost made the mistake of knowing where the dining room was. She realized at the last second Arnold had no idea how many times she had 'visited' his house over the years and to know the layout would probably give away more information than she wanted to give.

Arnold pointed to the right and Helga looked in to a cozy kitchen and dining area. No one else appeared to be up but...

"Grandma. What _are _you doing?"

Helga could tell Arnold wanted to smack himself in the face as he asked it but he refrained. His grandmother was dressed in her regular green dress for once but it looked like she had completely emptied out the whole fridge. There were packages all over the counter and from what Helga counted at least five watermelons.

She turned to the two teenagers with a smile on her face. "Arnold! Eleanor! I'm so glad you're here to help move the rations."

Helga raised her eyebrow but she wasn't that surprised. This was far from the first time that Arnold's grandmother had called her 'Eleanor Roosevelt'. In fact, it was almost becoming a pet name for her. She was sort of happy that grandma remembered her...well, as long as she didn't blab. But than again, would Arnold really believe her? Helga doubted it.

Grandma just continued to hum as she went back to the fridge. Nodding at the emptiness, she slammed the doors and turned to face Arnold and Helga. She smacked her two palms together and gave them a wicked smile. This time Arnold really did face palm himself.

"Arnold, you get the watermelons. Eleanor grab all the rations you can carry! I'm grabbing the rest and it's up to the roof! Time to grill up these babies!" Grandma threw some miscellaneous food stuff into her apron and held it closed. She ran out of the kitchen yelling "Charge!"

Arnold just turned to face Helga. She couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or scream. She knew her football head loved his grandma, but if this had been the first time he had seen her, Helga would have been slightly bewildered. In reality it was the totally opposite, Helga was sure she was even more in love with them than ever before.

"I...I..." Arnold tried to stutter out but Helga held up her hand for him to stop. He averted his eyes at first until she started to laugh. Arnold was about to yell at her, but then he saw her smile.

"Oh, boy! Football head, I love your family. Way more exciting than my excuse of a family." They both exchanged smiles and went to grab all the food to take it up to the roof.

* * *

Grandma already had the grill running and Arnold could smell the propane. She had already put on corn and kebabs. Even though Arnold could hardly believe it, it looked like she had already carved a watermelon too.

Helga threw her 'rations' on the picnic table and grabbed a slice of watermelon. She couldn't help but wink as she and Arnold locked eyes. "Deja vu, huh?" He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Eleanor would you be a darling and help get the plates ready. I want to set up the chocolate fountain." Arnold tried to voice his protest but luckily grandpa showed up just in time.

"Oh, pookie. What are you doing?" He sounded exasperated with his wife of over thirty years. It was amazing that even he could still not understand her craziness.

Grandma extended the spatula into the air as she exclaimed, "We are cooking the rations! No man goes hungry. Mrs. Roosevelt has even taken time from her busy schedule to help." Helga gave a wave and what she hoped was a pleasant smile to the older man.

Phil rolled his eyes. "Pookie, I thought I told you to stop grabbing random people from the street!"

Arnold interrupted. "No, she's with me grandpa." Helga saw a slight bit of color creep onto his cheeks.

Grandpa hit himself in the forehead. "Oh! It's your little friend with the one eyebrow. Hello."

Helga blushed and covered her face. That settled it; when she got home she was plucking her eyebrows for good.

Grandma had luckily forgotten about the fountain and instead started to open packages of steak and other meatly items. Helga wondered how Green Meats was doing. Even though she was enjoying it, Helga hoped the electricity would be back on soon.

She picked up a kebab and handed it to Arnold. He tore of the first green pepper and started to chew it with relish. He couldn't believe how hungry he was! Arnold couldn't help but smile at the scene around him. Sure, his grandparents were just as crazy as ever, but it was amazing how easily Helga seemed to fit in with them. He knew her family was less than perfect too, but Arnold was pretty sure he had the crazier end with his grandparents.

Helga stepped aside as grandpa took the tongs from her and threw on another streak. The grilling food smelled divine in the morning air and she could feel herself getting hungrier. However Helga wasn't the only one who could smell the heavenly food.

"What is this I smell?" Came the accented voice of Oskar from the ladder up to the roof. No one seemed surprised that he was up hours earlier than he would normally be. There was food...and it was free; Oskar was there!

Grandpa flailed his arms in the air and tried to smack Oskar as he swept in and grabbed the last kebab. "I swear Kokoshka if you touch another...!"

Helga laughed. So many antics and the day had barely begun! Plus if she remembered correctly there were some other boarders that were bound to show up. Suddenly she felt Arnold slid down next to her on the picnic tabletop. He handed her a corn on the cob. "This is quite the breakfast bucko." She took a bit. 'Yum! It's dripping with butter. The only way to eat corn.'

He smiled and took another bite of his own cob. "Thanks Helga. I don't know if I could have handled this alone with my lack of sleep." He chuckled and tapped her shoulder with his own. She almost choked on the corn in her mouth but she managed to gulp it down.

Helga turned to scowl at him, but found herself grinning. "Hey no prob Football head. You provide the food and I'm pretty much there."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Well then you definitely fit in with this crew."

If on cue, Mr. Hyunh showed up. "The electricity is out." But all of his worries disappeared once he actually got a look at the grill and the satisfied faces of the boarders already on the roof. "But who cares! Please hand me a steak."

Grandpa groaned as he handed over another steak. "This isn't some free ride! I'm tacking on extra next month!" Instantly Oskar began to whine like a little baby but he still grabbed another cob off the plate on the picnic table.

Helga licked her fingers in a satisfied manner. She should probably control herself..._nah_. She grabbed slice of watermelon. "So what you doing today football head?" Arnold shrugged his shoulders in a non-committed way. She couldn't help but laugh at his lack of enthusiasm. Then suddenly a flashbulb went off in his head. "Oh, crap. Gerald is coming over and then we're doing to the arcade."

Helga quickly polished off another slice of watermelon before she said the inevitable. "Well, I guess that means I'm out." She stood up and brushed the crumbs off of her lap. "It's been real." Before she could take one step, Arnold's hand grabbed onto her forearm.

"Want to join us?" Arnold added quickly, "...you can bring Phoebe!" Arnold knew he wanted to spend more time with her but he wasn't ready to admit that to her or to himself.

So many emotions were running around in Helga's head she had no idea what to do. Smile? Laugh? Smack him? Okay, maybe not the third choice but after spending half the night together and then morning, Helga couldn't believe that Arnold still wanted to see her.

"Whatever floats your boat bucko." Arnold gave her arm a light squeeze and let go.

"I'll see you around 3-ish?"

"Sure."

Before either of them could say another word, Helga ran to the fire escape ladder and was gone. She heard grandma yell after her, "Say hello to Teddy for me!" Realizing she had been rude, Helga popped her head back up and yelled back, "I will! Your country thanks you for breakfast!"

Helga got about a block before she realized she was still wearing Arnold's shirt. She took a deep sniff and let out a sigh. Sure, she hadn't gotten her kiss...but there was always tomorrow; or even that afternoon.

Plus she thought with an dreamy grin, she had a new piece to add to her shrine.


End file.
